ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The past two years have been marked by both challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and positive progress for military families and veterans, a report from Purdue University’s Military Family Research Institute found.  

The report, “Measuring Our Communities: The State of Military and Veteran Families in the United States,” analyzed the status of American military and veteran families across nine themes, including employment, housing, K–12 and postsecondary education and behavioral health.  

Military spouses continue to face challenges finding and maintaining employment, an issue that can impact military families’ wellbeing and whether a service member chooses to stay in uniform, a new Government Accountability Office report says.

Many of the challenges stem from an inability to easily transfer professional licenses or credentials from one state to another, and frequent moves, which may be connected to higher unemployment rates among military spouses compared to civilians, according to the GAO. 

A new report looking at the 25% unemployment rate for military spouses finds that little real progress has been made in reforms that would reduce joblessness and help family finances. 

A 2021 report on employment stability prepared for the National Military Spouse Network, a 10-year-old effort focused on helping military spouses have professional careers, says the U.S. unemployment rate peaked at 14.7% in April 2020—still 10 percentage points less than the “stubbornly high rate” for the wives and husbands of service members.  

Women often face lower salaries and longer unemployment periods than men when seeking employment after military service, according to a report by Hire Heroes USA. 

“Since our first Hire Heroes report, we've identified pay disparities based on gender and have been working to gain a greater understanding of the causes of those disparities,” said Jason Dozier, Hire Heroes’ director of program operations and evaluation, in a press release.

An Army pilot program to test a marketplace-style assignment system for enlisted soldiers, like the new system now in use by the officer corps, is set to launch this summer with selected soldiers.

Soldiers and NCOs in armor, military intelligence and quartermaster MOSs will begin testing the Assignment Satisfaction Key-Enlisted Marketplace in June ahead of the planned implementation for the entire enlisted force by January 2021, according to an Army news release.

The challenges faced by military spouses in maintaining career continuity on overseas assignments is partly due to limitations built into host-nation agreements and U.S. tax laws, according to a new report by the National Military Spouse Network.

The Army needs talented civilians, and it should streamline how it brings them into the force, panelists said Oct. 16 during a forum at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

"We need to shorten the hiring time and improve the acquisition of talent," said Carol Burton, director of the Civilian Human Resources Agency for the Army deputy chief of staff for personnel. Noting that the hiring process for civilians typically takes 180 days – during which time prospective candidates may go somewhere else – Burton said: "It's time to change."

David Norquist, the Pentagon comptroller nominated to become deputy defense secretary, is a former Army GS-9 program and budget analyst who believes in fiscal and structural reform and is a strong supporter of the military’s civilian workforce.

Testifying July 24 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Norquist said the biggest challenge facing the Defense Department’s civilian workforce is competing for talent with other private and public employers.

A job fair hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army attracted more than 200 job seekers who were on the lookout for a gateway to a new line of work, career advice and the opportunity to network with dozens of potential employers.

The Dec. 12 Soldier and Family Job Fair, the third one held at the General Gordon R. Sullivan Conference and Event Center at AUSA’s national headquarters in Arlington, Va., brought together transitioning soldiers, veterans, civilians and family members who walked in or pre-registered online.